Things to do in London this weekend

Edmond Rostan’s French classic is anything but stuffy in this RSC transfer. Co-adaptors Simon Evans (who also directs) and Debris Stevenson restore the work to 1640 France – a time when the country was stuck in the Thirty Years’ War – and yes, it comes with all the trimmings of that era (pocket swords! Mournful violin players!). It’s very much the romantic tragicomedy Rostand wrote, but despite its period setting, it feels wholly current. Adrien Lester’s Cyrano appears as a man of swaggering confidence and Susannah Fielding’s Roxane is sardonically chipper, with girl-next-door energy. It all makes for a five-star play, oozing with bittersweet longing and stirring down to its last jot. 

This weekend brings the first quarter-final matches of the World Cup, and whether England make it through or not, it’s still very much worth pulling up a stool for, with a host of tantalising fixtures taking place as the knockout stages continue.

Click through to see where in London is showing all World Cup fixtures. And if you’re sizing up England’s potential route to the final, check out who the Three Lions could take on next. 

When you think of London summer, plenty of things come to mind: music festivals, Primrose Hill hangs, swims in Hampstead Heath ponds, tins by Regent’s Canal, but when it comes to the great pillars of our city summer, one event wears the crown: the Wimbledon Tennis Championships – aka the oldest, and arguably the very best, tennis tournament in the world. 

The action continues this weekend. Thousands of people will be descending on SW19 to see the matches IRL. If you haven’t got tickets and don’t fancy camping overnight to get in, there are plenty of live screenings taking place all over London you can go to instead. 

And you won’t be missing out on any of the Wimbledon staples at these screenings either, with jugs of Pimms and punnets of strawberries available at nearly every location, you’ll hardly notice the difference from Murray Mount. Even better – most watch parties won’t cost you a single penny. So, pack your picnic blanket, fill your flask and pull up a pew at a summery screening near you.

RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to Wimbledon 2026.

Taking a little of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, a sprinkle of Mike Nichols, a toke or two of stoner comedy silliness and a big huff of post-Woody Allen urbanite repression, Olivia Wilde’s latest slots into a rich lineage of hilariously awkward sex comedies. With a stellar cast – Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz – finding alchemy in their contrasting styles, it’s daringly close to the bone and frequently fall-off-your-chair funny. It’s also comfortably the best US remake of a Spanish film yet. Cesc Gay’s Goya-nominated The People Upstairs is transplanted from Barcelona to the one-time home of free love, San Francisco, where fraying married couple Joe (Rogen) and Angela (Wilde) are finding love of any description hard to come by. A late shift sees the film fully embrace its inner Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, shedding laughs for a sadder and deeper commentary on marriage that rings true. Cue it up and get the neighbours round. Or not.

Maai – the debut restaurant from Nikita Pathakji, winner of both Masterchef: The Professionals and Great British Menu’s Champion of Champions – is a family affair. Mother Rima runs the ship, sister Isha has created the bar menu, and the space has been modelled on their own house. This is fine dining without any of the pretence. Extraordinary flavours are presented casually, but the menu also offers serious cooking that fuses the familiar and the original into a genre-agnostic, high-low experience where traditional rules have no place and pleasure is king. Pathakji’s cooking prioritises UK produce, taking influence from the family’s Indian heritage and mixing it with ideas cribbed from her global travels. You can feel the love at Maai - for the food, for the space, for each other - and it’s contagious. Grab a seat at the Pathakji’s table for the greatest family dinner you’re likely to find.

Visit the first museum exhibition dedicated to artist Audrey Amiss, which brings together drawings, paintings and other exhibition materials to explore the life and work of Amiss who died in 2013. Committed to psychiatric hospitals several times throughout her life, Amiss used her art to advocate for people who were mistreated by the mental health system. The Surviving Exhibitions focuses on works that records suggest Amiss exhibited or intended to make public. 

This nail-bitingly tense thriller is director Felix Barrett’s second ‘normal’ piece of theatre to open in London in the last year. Barrett is the founder and driving force behind immersive theatre legends Punchdrunk. The Guilty concerns a troubled police call centre operator; it’s writer Chloe Moss’s adaptation of the Danish film Den Skyldige and its Jake Gyllenhaal-starring Hollywood remake. This production is about as immersive as sitting in a seat watching a single guy onstage gets. The action is enhanced by an arsenal of disorienting light and sound tricks. Russell Tovey wears his heart on his sleeve tremendously well as Joe, a jaded police call centre operator going about his job with surly efficiency. There are hints from the beginning that something bad has happened to Tovey’s operator. Barrett’s direction provides an alluring air of ambiguity, but at the same time it’s mostly a bloody good real-time thriller. 

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park celebrates its burgeoning status as one of London’s most cultured quarters with another themed weekend as part of its The Music is Black Festival, a series of four weekend festivals happening throughout the summer in tandem with V&A East’s inaugural exhibition. 

Following June’s grime and soundsystem celebration The Music is Ours,  Power & Respect is a two day celebration of the immense contributions of Black women and non-binary artists to contemporary music, both on stage and behind the scenes, with live music and DJ sets across three canalside spaces. 

Curated by DJ and broadcaster Jamz Supernova, Saturday’s line-up features live sets by neo-soul singers Lava La Rue and Terri Walker and plus jazz outfit the Cassie Kinoshi Quartet on the Waterfront Stage, while the Mid Terrace stage at Sadlers Wells East celebrates the 25-year career of London rapper Cooly G alongside sets from DJ Smokin Jo.

And over at Sadler’s Wells East, Hackney Showroom and the Museum of Youth Culture host a talk with the women who pioneered UK reggae, dancehall and lovers rock in the 80s and 90s, including the legendary Carroll Thompson, before a club night curated by theatremaker Jade Hackett gets the crowd dancing until midnight. 

Sunday’s Waterfront Stage line-up is curated by neo-soul and R&B talents in Yazmin Lacey and TYSON, while south London DJ collective BORN N BREAD oversees the Mid Terrace; catch the likes of yeahitsrenee and Kokoroko’s Sheila Maurice-Grey, and competition winners Cleopatra and Polly Chronic across the two spaces, with a chilled out Sunday Session at Sadler’s Wells East.

Two more weekends follow this summer: Queer Frequencies (22-23 Aug) takes over with London's queer collectives, and Black to the Future (12-13 Sep) closes the season with a sci-fi-inflected finale.

Popping up each summer on the steps where the Regent’s Canal passes Granary Square, Everyman’s Screen on the Canal is one of the city’s best loved outdoor cinemas, thanks to its atmospheric setting, eclectic programming and the fact that it doesn’t cost viewers a penny. Pop down on a sunny afternoon to catch live coverage from Wimbledon every day of the tournament, plus the usual mix of live sports, classic movies, family-friendly flicks and recent hits.

Springwood, the stage adaptation of Richard Nelson’s film Hyde Park on Hudson dramatises the 1939 state visit to the United States, when King George VI and the future Queen Mother met President Franklin D Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for the first time. Here, then, are the origins of the so-called ‘special relationship’. Hitler’s power is on the rise, and Britain is desperate for an ally. But before they can secure American support, they must first survive a country-house weekend, a public picnic and the thorny business of mastering beer etiquette and eating hot dogs with dignity. Programming a play that interrogates the special relationship at a moment when tensions between the UK and US are once again in choppy waters feels apt. 

Up at the top of Ally Pally this summer, you’ll find a multifaceted web of genres. Where else can you while away the day with renowned DJs like Roni Size, MJ Cole and Groove Armada alongside crowd-pleasing live performances from acts including Rudimental, the Amy Winehouse Band and Black Grape. There’s also comedy on the books from Russell Kane, alongside disco yoga, hip hop karaoke and Bez’s Acid House Experience. Coming with kids? There’s plenty of family-friendly fun too, with circus acts, the world’s tallest bubbleologist, acrobatics and more. This is one festival that truly lives up to its name. 

‘What you are about to see is something you’ve never seen before,’ we're promised at the start of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. That may be true for some of us, but not for all: Nirvanna the Band the Show was actually a culty and beloved Canadian sitcom based on an early aughts web series – which has now, as advertised, been turned into a full-length movie. Like the series and sitcom, the movie follows two clueless friends determined to book a gig at Toronto’s famed Rivoli music club. Unfortunately, they don’t have a manager, an agent or much of a setlist. Because the movie’s on-the-fly style is as scruffy as its protagonists, it’s easy to underestimate the intelligence and artistry it takes to make something so silly. But they dumb themselves down brilliantly. And right about now, a brilliantly big-hearted, feel-good comedy may be even more valuable than a Saturday night spot at the Rivoli.

Swamplesque is, alarmingly, an unofficial but by all accounts very successful Shrek-themed burlesque show from Australia that has been slaing them Down Under and at the Edinburgh Fringe the last couple of years. It sounds extravagently silly but if you’re enamoured of the green ogre and his various adventures and want a laugh, it’s probably up your street.

Frida Kahlo’s brought the sun to London. Tate Modern has sold more advance tickets for Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon than for any exhibition in the Tate gallery’s 128-year history. And it’s not surprising. 

This exhibition sets out to show how Frida became one of the most recognisable artists of the 20th century and a source of inspiration for generations of artists who followed. Alongside 23 paintings and 11 works on paper by Kahlo, there are photographs she sat for, her jewellery, a selection of Indigenous Mexican clothing from Kahlo’s wardrobe, and an excerpt from a film by Nikolas Muray capturing a tender moment between Frida and Diego.

And then there are several galleries devoted to documenting ‘Fridamania’: the shrines, sacred hearts and handcrafted tributes that transformed Kahlo from artist into folk hero before turning her into a global brand.

More than seventy years after her death at the age of 47, the Mexican artist remains a cultural phenomenon: a painter, fashion muse, feminist icon and, as the gift shop attests, a patron saint of tote bags and tea towels. Expect it to be busy!

BST is back again this summer, bringing some of the world’s biggest pop stars to Hyde Park for its 13th edition. After three massive gigs last weekend – Maroon 5, Mumford and Sons and Duran Duran – this weekend features headline sets from Pitbull and Kesha (July 10) and Lewis Capaldi (July 11- July 12). There’s also a wealth of great support acts, including Tinie Tempah, Lil Jon, Tia Kofi and Mae Hill on the Friday and The Vaccines, among others, on July 11 and 12. 

And if you’re up for some spontaneous plans, you can still grab general release tickets for all three gigs, starting at £114.35, £124.95 and £99.95 respectively. But hurry, before they’re all gone!

If you thought walking up to your favourite painting in the National Gallery was as close as you could get to a masterpiece, think again. At Frameless, 42 masterpieces from 29 of the world’s most iconic artists are presented in ways never seen before, reimagined through cutting-edge technology, animation and soundscapes. Situated in Marble Arch, Frameless plays host to four unique galleries with hypnotic visuals and a dazzling score, where visitiors can enjoy 90 minutes of surreal artwork from Bosch, Dalí and more, for just £23.60.

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Is it art, or is it maths? It’s a question even MC Escher himself couldn’t answer about his own work. While the Dutch printmaker known for his infinite staircases, metamorphosing tessellations and paradoxical buildings was rejected by the art world, he was revered by mathematicians and is now one of the most famous optical illusionists of all time. The OG creator of images that make you go ‘Huh?’ is going under the microscope in London with a blockbuster exhibition celebrating his life and work this summer. Created by Italian company Arthemisia and the immersive peeps at Fever, MC Escher: The Exhibition has arrived at Somerset House as part of its world tour. If you are a gaga for geometry, are fascinated by fractals, or just have a penchant for the psychedelic, you will find plenty to be engrossed by here. 

One of Peter Shaffer’s most fondly remembered works is 1965’s Black Comedy, a throwaway one-act drawing room farce designed with astoundingly virtuosic precision, like a gaudy Christmas cracker that turns out to have a Fabergé egg inside. In it, skint artist Brindsley Miller tries to play off his ex, his fiancé, his neighbours, his fiancé’s dad and a guy from the electricity board as he frantically attempts to get his flat ready to impress a visiting German millionaire in the middle of a power cut. Shaffer’s audacious innovation is to reverse the lighting cues, so that when the lights in Brindsley’s flat are on, we’re plunged into total darkness, and when the lights are off, the theatre is brightly lit but the characters in the play can’t see anything. If it was significantly longer, it might run out of steam. But at one 90-minute act it’s damn near immaculate.

Works by Yung Lean, 070 Shake, Foals’ Yannis Philippakis and Charlize Theron will all be featured in this audiovisual exhibition at 180 Studios, created by film director Romain Gavras and producer Surkin (also know as Gener8ion). Visions of 2034 will display seven new and previously unseen short films, alongside an immersive installation and unseen Gener8ion footage and visuals. The immersive space will take visitors to a fictional world of 2034, where ‘hundreds of skittish and charasmatic’ characters will be waiting to greet them as they explore the works celebrating music, art, cinema and choreography. 

In our age of mind-boggling CGI and AI-optimised everything, it’s easy to forget how much pleasure can be had from the simple optical tricks of mirrors and lights. But not for Julio Le Parc. A key figure of the Kinetic and Op Art movements of the 1960s, the pioneering Argentinian artist has been making illuminated, kinetic and participatory works for seven decades, and is still making art at the ripe old age of 97. This major retrospective celebrates his visionary seven-decade career, spanning from from his arrival in Paris in the late 1950s to his resurgence in the 2010s, with over 60 colourful, immersive (and extremely Instagrammable) works.

Now broadly uncancelled – general consensus seems to be that the excruciating account of a date with him published in the shortlived Babe magazine was mostly just cringe – Aziz Ansari hasn’t quite rescaled the popular heights of his Master of None glory days. But he remains a big draw, with perhaps a little more cynicism than he exhibited in the past in later years. Hypothetical hasn’t been reviewed anywhere yet, but word is it’s concerned with Ansari’s getting older, with musings on marriage and age.

Since May, Bermondsey residents have been getting into puppetry and storytelling at a series of workshops designed to unlock people's creativity. This family-friendly one day festival is the big culmination of it all, with live performances and drop in workshops that are all about the joy of sharing stories. There'll also be art workshops, food stalls, and plenty of space to relax in the peaceful setting of Bermondsey's Spa Gardens. 

After pulling in millions of visitors in Amsterdam and Barcelona, Moco Museum London has landed beside Marble Arch with a three-floor showcase of modern, contemporary and immersive art. Inside, you’ll find more than 100 works from names including Banksy, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Yayoi Kusama, alongside immersive digital rooms and sensory installations designed to pull you into the artwork. There’s also the limited-run exhibition ‘Voice of the Street’, dedicated to Haring’s legendary New York subway drawings from the early 1980s. Flex-entry tickets start from £15, so you can drop in whenever suits during opening hours.

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As one of Britain’s most celebrated sculptors of the 20th century, Barbara Hepworth made stunning modern creations inspired by the nature and lanscapes of Cornwall, where she lived. Her abstract shapes often featured smooth ovals, holes, undulating surfaces and strings. This summer the Courtauld will stage an exhibition interested in one aspect of Hepworth’s practice: her obsession with colour, which often came up in her work in unexpected ways. Featuring 20 of her most significant sculptures, alongside 30 drawings, Hepworth in Colour will unite for the first time her early innovative sculptures with colour of the 1940s with major examples of her work with colour from the 1950s and 1960s.

Mexican architecture firm LANZA atelier has been chosen to design this 2026 Serpentine Pavilion, which features a ‘crinkle-crankle’ wall. Traditional structures seen in English architecture from the 18th century, these wavy partitions temper climate, create shelter, and are ideal for growing fruit. And fittingly, they’re also known as serpentine walls. The prestigious architectural commission celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026, with a landmark series of talks programmed in collaboration with the Zaha Hadid Foundation. 

Broadwick Soho arrived with serious flair in 2023 and has been serving up a hit of West End glamour, that feels both indulgent and effortlessly cool ever since. Tucked inside the hotel, Dear Jackie is its seductive Italian dining room, all Murano glow, red silk walls and plush booths that could tell a few stories. The menu leans into refined Italian comfort with superior pasta and reimagined classics, making it an ideal spot to settle in for dinner.

With this exclusive Time Out offer, you can sink into Soho’s newest slice of dolce vita decadence for less with a three courses set meun and a glass of Champagne (worth £22). The perfect pre-theatre treat or the start of a night that might run on far longer than planned.

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For the last three decades, Streetz Ahead has been supporting kids and young people through dance. To commemorate those 30 years, the charity is putting on an extra special edition of its annual Streetz Fest. The family-friendly event will be packed with food trucks, mental health and wellbeing activities and dance classes. That’s not to mention the roller skating, the inflatebles, the silent disco tent, the live performances and the (surprise!) giant flash mob. The fest is free but it might be worth reserving your spot ahead of time. 

The National Theatre has brought back 2007’s blockbuster War Horse, a show that closed on the West End in 2016 but has lived on via endless tours and a Stephen Spielberg-directed screen adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s source text. It’s still incredible. Number one, the puppets are astonishing. Number two: sure, it’s a reasonably trope-filled story about the First World War, adapted by Nick Stafford from Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 book with a plot that revolves around the doomed British cavalry who discovered they were obsolete in the worst way possible during the early weeks of the conflict. It’s sturdy, unfussy storytelling, but this gives it a purity and timelessness.  The years haven’t touched War Horse, and short of a radical rethink of our attitude to WW1 or, puppets, it’s hard to imagine why it would ever age. 

The first major European exhibition of James McNeil Whistler’s work in 30 years arrives at Tate Britain in 2026. Known as a truly global artist, The Victorian oil painter re-wrote many of the rules of art, and was an early adopter of ’art for art’s sake’. The retrospective brings together the artist’s world-famous paintings such as ‘Whistler’s Mother’ (Mr Bean fans will recognise this one, IYKYK) alongside rarely, or never seen, works. It includes exquisite portraits, drawings, prints, and designs, from as early as his teens in St Petersburg to the enigmatic late self-portraits.